NZ dollar falls to near 2-week low

April 17 (BusinessDesk) - The New Zealand dollar
fell to near a two-week low against the pound on speculation
economic data including employment and wages will build the
case for a rate hike by the Bank of England next
month.

The kiwi dollar fell to 51.29 British pence as at
8am in Wellington from 51.58 pence late yesterday. The local
dollar traded at 73.55 US cents from 73.54 cents
yesterday.

The UK probably added 55,000 jobs in February,
less than a third of the previous month's figure although
economists at ING reportedly expect between 80,000 and
90,000 jobs were added, with wage growth of about 2.8
percent year-on-year. The Bank of England kept its key rate
unchanged at 0.5 percent last month but expectations are
building for a quarter-point hike to 0.75 percent in May.
Meanwhile British and European Union officials have begun a
new round of Brexit talks

"Expectations for upcoming data,
M&A chatter and Brexit negotiations kicking off once again
are all supporting the GBP, and leaving this cross with a
downside bias," said Liz Kendall, senior economist at ANZ
Bank New Zealand in a note. "It was generally a range-bound
night for kiwi overnight, but it remains at the whims of
global forces."

In New Zealand today, traders will be
watching for March real estate sales and the latest Global
Dairy Trade auction tonight. And on Thursday, the market
will be watching for first-quarter inflation data with
economists expecting annual inflation of 1.1 percent. The
tepid data will add to the view the central bank will keep
rates on hold for the foreseeable future.

The
trade-weighted index was at 75.30 from 75.41
yesterday.

The kiwi dollar traded at 94.53 Australian
cents from 94.61 cents and traded at 78.78 yen from 78.86
yen. It fell to 59.40 euro cents from 59.63 cents and
declined to 4.6148 yuan from 4.6207
yuan.

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